American Amazon shoppers have been offered free MP3 versions of their back catalog of music purchases since January and now Brits are getting the same deal, with vinyl tracks thrown in for good measure. Any CDs or vinyl (and even cassettes!) bought since 1999 will now be added to Amazon UK account owners' Cloud Player, free and automatically. There are now More than 350,000 albums that are already AutoRip-compatible, and Amazon's own music player ensures you should be able to play the 256 Kbps MP3 tracks on practically any device that can browse the web. The full release is right after the break.

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Introducing Amazon AutoRip for Customers in the UK: Customers Will Now Receive Free MP3 Versions of CDs and Vinyl Music Purchased From Amazon.co.uk – Past, Present and Future

Customers who have purchased AutoRip CDs and vinyl from Amazon.co.uk dating back to 1999 will find MP3 versions automatically added to their Amazon Cloud Player account, free of charge
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Luxembourg – Amazon.co.uk today announced the launch of Amazon AutoRip, a new service that gives customers free MP3 versions of CDs and vinyl music they purchase from Amazon. When customers purchase AutoRip CDs and vinyl the MP3 versions are automatically added to their Cloud Player libraries where they are available, free of charge, for immediate playback or download – no more waiting for the CD to arrive. Additionally, customers who have purchased AutoRip albums at any time since Amazon.co.uk first opened its Music Store in 1999 will find MP3 versions of those albums in their Cloud Player libraries – also automatically and for free. More than 350,000 albums, including titles from every major record label, are available for AutoRip, and more titles are added all the time – customers can just look for the AutoRip logo.

"What would you say if you bought CDs, vinyl or even cassettes from a company 14 years ago, and then 14 years later that company licensed the rights from the record companies to give you the MP3 versions of those albums... and then to top it off, did that for you automatically and for free?" said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. "Well, starting today, it's available to all of our Amazon.co.uk customers – past, present, and future – at no cost. We love these opportunities to do something extra for our customers."

AutoRip features include:
· Free digital copies: Amazon customers who purchase AutoRip CDs and vinyl get free MP3 versions of the albums delivered directly to their Cloud Player libraries – automatically, immediately, and at no cost – no more hassle with ripping CDs and finding a way to get them onto your favourite devices

· CD, vinyl and cassette purchases dating back to 1999: MP3 versions of AutoRip CDs, vinyl and cassettes that customers have purchased since the launch of Amazon.co.uk's music store in 1999 will also be delivered to their Cloud Player libraries for free

· Enjoy everywhere: Music can be played instantly from any Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire, Android phone or tablet, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and any web browser, giving customers the freedom to enjoy music from more devices than any other major cloud locker music service

· Free storage and backup: All AutoRip MP3s are stored for free in customers' Cloud Player libraries and do not count against Cloud Player storage limits. Customers can buy music and know that it is safely stored in Cloud Player and accessible from any compatible device